“Despite Apple’s investments in developing its own custom ARM microchips in place of using Intel’s Atom mobile processors, the company has reached out to Intel as a partner to drive the adoption of the new Light Peak specification for optical cabling,” Daniel Eran Dilger writes for RoughlyDrafted.
“With Light Peak, Apple and Intel are investing in a major project to deliver a unified new high speed cabling system that remains backwardly compatible with existing protocols and leverages state of the art technology while hitting a mainstream price point. Getting Light Peak to work requires a joint fusion of the core competencies of both Apple and Intel. Its success will benefit the entire industry, and solve a number of existing problems,” Dilger writes.
“With Light Peak, Apple asked Intel to develop a single data port that could supply multiple, high speed streams of data capable of carrying virtually any type of signaling… Teamed up with Intel, Apple can get a cheaper connector for its future systems, with development costs spread across the industry; Intel can get a partner ready to promote and rapidly deploy the new standard,” Dilger writes.
Full article here.
Great. Now our ports will be “snappy” to…
wow, really? first.
Must be faster than you can say f….
Wikipedia claims that Apple are not involved in Light Peak.
and thoroughly buzz compliant:
… deliver a unified new high speed cabling system that remains backwardly compatible with existing protocols and leverages state of the art technology while hitting a mainstream price point
@Gordon: Does too.
If you regard Wikipedia as a definitive source of information… well, you should stop and think about that. Wikipedia’s content is user generated. Accuracy is not always part of the program.
It’s not that Apple isn’t involved, it’s just that the Engadget story which claimed Apple brought the idea to Intel was wrong. It’s the opposite. Intel brought Light Peak to Apple and now Apple is one of a few companies collaborating with Intel so they can refine it and introduce it into the consumer space.
@ Ludor
Shouldn’t that be “Does now.”?
How long before Microsoft claims to have invented, and brings out ‘Lite Peek’..?
Apple and innovation again! Take the time to think about the many ways Apple’s innovations have been adopted by others and have changed so many markets.
Many more Apple innovations to come!!!
OK, OK, I know what Wikipedia is… just thought I’d mention it since this forum topic is about Light Peak.
Looks like intel wants revenge. They want to kill a whole flock of birds with one stone.
1. Atom on the iPhone
2. Display Port
3. USB 3.0
4. Windows and reluctant users.
Intel knows that once Apple implements a brilliant system, that works flawlessly, then Windows would have no excuses or bargaining power to get it working.
This might actually signal the end of Microsoft
I’m not sure I can believe how quickly Apple is allegedly looking to move to Light Peak.
Better for battery life with only one chip to power. Better for micro-portables with only one port space required.
@Bartsimpsonhead
How long before Microsoft claims to have invented, and brings out ‘Lite Peek’..?
NICE!!
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Nah, just expect to see a technology demo from Microsoft about this in the next few weeks. It won’t actually show the product, just a rendering of what it will be like when it’s created. No definite timeline will be announced, nor will any specifics be given on how it works. Microsoft apologists the internet over will hail it as the next greatest invention to come out of Redmond, sure to revolutionize the technology world. It will never actually materialize, but that won’t stop said apologists from touting it at every opportunity and decrying Light Peak as a poor knockoff.
More like “Pike Leek”. Balmer throws chairs when his engineers bring him a Chinese take-out dish instead of a computer port.
The likelihood is Apple wanted NOT to be involved.
After all, the industry didn’t buy into Firewire did it?
I assume this is supposed to be some kind of “fiber-optic” information port. Unless i’m wrong about that, how will devices that used to be usb be powered?
“This might actually signal the end of Microsoft.”
That’d be like saying firewire could have been the end of Microsoft. It may be very cool technology, but it’s still just a wannabe standard that any company can put into its products.
It’ll be a lot like Webkit, which has brought more standards to the browser market and certainly to websites in general. It leveled the Internet playing field. It’s also used by competitors to compete against Apple.
This will be no different. Apple might just be the — yet again — the first company to have it.
Oh yay! Please let this end up being the much wished after, “one cable for everything” that I’ve always wanted.
Although, I’m sure they’ll still “eff” this one up too by having Light Peak Connector “A”, Light Peak Connector “B”, Light Peak Mini Connector, and of course Light Peak Micro Connector, which will still leave me rooting through a box of tangled cords and adapters trying to find which one connects “this” to “that”.
Dude it will apparently include a copper wire for that purpose.
Light Pipe is a better name than Light Peak. As long as it has staying power with plenty of bandwidth headroom, I am willing to go through yet another interface change.
Let me just point out that the very same media can carry even higher bandwidth in the future, as the optoelectronics improve. This isn’t like coaxial cable.
-jcr